Oil prices climbed on Friday, driven by short-covering from U.S. traders ahead of the Memorial Day weekend and rising tensions over U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations.
Brent crude futures closed at $64.78 per barrel, an increase of 34 cents or 0.54%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 33 cents to settle at $61.53, also up 0.54%.
Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group, attributed the price gain to traders closing short positions before the extended weekend, a time traditionally associated with increased fuel demand due to the start of the U.S. summer driving season.
Further boosting market unease, American and Iranian negotiators met in Rome on Friday for another round of nuclear discussions. Traders fear that failure to reach an agreement could disrupt oil supplies. Flynn warned, “If these are the last talks and there’s no deal, it could give a green light to the Israelis to attack Iran.”
In addition, market sentiment was pressured by trade tensions. Former President Donald Trump announced a proposal for a 50% tariff on EU goods, set to begin June 1, citing difficult negotiations with the bloc.
Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, noted, “The oil market has been under pressure from two things — the uncertainty of how tariffs will affect oil demand, and expectations that OPEC+ will increase supply again this summer.”
OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies led by Russia, is expected to announce another supply increase of 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) for July during next week’s meeting. Reuters reported earlier that the group could fully reverse its remaining voluntary production cuts of 2.2 million bpd by the end of October, following recent output hikes totaling 1 million bpd across April, May, and June.
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